With only four games remaining in their regular season, the Chicago Bulls have played impressive basketball lately as they continue their playoff push.
Coming off Tuesday night’s loss against the New York Knicks, the Chicago Bulls are now 38-40. Seventh in the Eastern Conference, they have won their last five out of seven games after seemingly struggling for most of their 2016-17 campaign.
And their success could not have come at a better time.
As the Bulls are half a game out of the sixth spot, they only have four matchups left to play. Splitting two at home and two on the road, the team will travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on Thursday, before heading to Brooklyn to face off against the Nets on Saturday.
They will host the Orlando Magic on April 10 and end their season versus the Nets once more, this time at home, on April 12.
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A light enough schedule, made even easier by their recent improved performance.
"“I just want to win,” Jimmy Butler explained, regarding the squad’s surge. “I think my will to do that is going to overcome all the fatigue. At this time of the year, everybody’s tired, everybody’s nicked up. But when you have mental toughness, you overcome all that.”"
And he surely has.
The 27-year-old is averaging a whopping 32.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists a game for the month of April, and 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per contest on the season.
Even head coach Fred Hoiberg, who in the past has seemed to bump heads with Butler, is singing his praises.
"“There’s no doubt about it,” Hoiberg said when asked if he thought Butler should be in the race for Most Valuable Player. “A true sign of the MVP is what your team is without him. Look at our numbers when Jimmy is on the floor — we’re really good. And he makes other guys better.That’s the thing this year with putting the ball in his hands as much as we have, (he’s) not only creating for himself but he’s making the right play and getting the ball to other guys and setting them up for easy shots…”"
However, Butler is not the only one going to work lately.
Rajon Rondo has also been the talk of the town.
After a shaky start in Chicago, including an unexplained benching and lackluster productivity on the floor, the veteran has found his groove.
Take his season-high 25-point game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 1, for example. The star shot 11-of-18, including going 3-for-6 from downtown. He also managed to grab 11 rebounds, dish out six assists and pick three steals.
Obviously, he was not kidding when he said making the playoffs was his number one priority.
"“I just want to do what I can for this team this season, lead the young guys and make a push.”"
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Rondo and Butler both have done a great job of rallying the team together. With Dwyane Wade still out with an elbow injury, it has been mainly up to them to keep morale high and make sure their younger teammates stay focused.
The most apparent example of this is Nikola Mirotic‘s turnaround.
Having struggled to find his shot for the majority of this year, Mirotic has begun to shoot the lights out. Although he began April off on a quiet note, he finished Tuesday night’s contest with 21 points.
Previously, the forward had back-to-back 28-point games on March 26 and 30, shooting a combined 20-for-28, including going 12-of-20 from beyond the arc. He also had 28 points March 22, when he shot 4-of-6 from three.
His motivation? The postseason, of course.
"“I feel that it’s my time. It’s my time to make things right. I just want to enjoy the basketball. I just want to be happy right now. I’m very happy to be here. I want to make an impact at the end of the season. I want to be in the playoffs, that’s all.”"
It is true that the organization’s standing is not solely dependent on its performance. Whether or not the Bulls make the cut, also has to do with how teams like the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers finish out their schedules.
But Chicago is certainly in it to win it and deserves a lot of credit for its resilience.
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Will the Bulls be playoff bound? Or will they miss the postseason for the second year in a row? Only time will tell, but so far, so good.